firefighters thought they had the upper hand. good morning, and welcome to "news4 today," i'm eun yang. >> and good morning. i'm aaron gilchrist. it is thursday, november 1st, 2012. the death toll is climbing four days after sandy made landfall. so far, the storm has claimed 74 lives in the u.s. more than five million homes and businesses are without power along the east coast. most of the outages in the new york area. in the meantime, president obama saw the damage on the jersey shore firsthand yesterday. during that tour, the president pledged federal support for the long haul. >> pepco says it's restored power to all of its customers affected by sand dominion hopes to do the same by tonight. about 1,700 of its customers are still in the dark. that number was over 3,000 just a few hours ago. more than 4,000 bge homes and businesses in our area have no electricity. most of them are in anne arundel county. novak is working to restore four a little more than 250 customers. some students will have another day. in anne arundel county four

schools are closed. chapel forge early childhood center in prince george's county is also without power, as is lewis town elementary in frederick county, maryland, and all schools in pendleton county, west virginia, are closed because of power outage issues. time for weather and traffic. tom kierein, you're talking about falling back and falling down. it has been a busy weather week for you. >> for all of us. it's been an amazing team effort. we are still dealing with some of the effects of sandy. it's a huge storm. it's weakened a lot, but it is still spinning away over eastern canada. the center of circulation still spinning 500 miles away from us, but we're still feeling thefects -- the effects of a few passing sprinkles. the system dragging down some cold air from northern canada and bringing it all the way down here. these areas in dark blue are in

the 30s. in fact, it's at or below freezing still where the heaviest snow fell in west virginia and in western maryland. around the metro area, a few pockets of 30s in southern maryland, but all above freezing. there will be a chill in the air. maybe a sprinkle this morning. a lot of cloudiness through noontime. highs reaching mid 50s. i'm back in ten minutes with another update. here's danella now with your traffic. >> still starting with the rails because orange line is still slow. power outage outside of west falls church metro station causing delays all the way to new carrollton. vre looks nice and clear with no reported delays. looping around to the wilson bridge, in both directions, you're accident-free. volume not too bad just yet. over to i-95, it is slow. as you make your way northbound, even in the hov lanes you can

see some crowding. checking travel speeds, it will take you at least 30 minutes to get to the beltway. aaron, over to you. a developing story in northeast d.c. right now, firefighters trying to anything yur out what sparked a warehouse fire near gallaudet university.figure out what spar warehouse fire near gallaudet university. megan mcgrath with a new set back we're hearing about for firefighters. >> reporter: it's not so much new setback, it's just an ongoing challenge for firefighters. this is a very difficult type of blaze. it a warehouse fire. this is the old union market warehouse district. have a lot of old buildings that are crammed full of merchandise, many of the wholesale vendors here specialize in meats and poultry, but there are a number of restaurant supply companies, textiles, vendors who sell t-shirts and souvenirs and the like. it was one of those businesses where they believe that this fire originated. so that business was filled with

t-shirts and other things that were very, very flammable. that made it a very difficult situation for firefighters to get their hands on, because there was all of this flammable stuff jammed into one spot. >> warehouses are a nightmare for firefighters. it makes it hard for us to get in and then there's a lot of merchandise in a small space. so it's hard to put a fire out. >> talking to the deputy chief, he says these are very dangerous fires to fight. there's a lot of concern about the safety of firefighters. we certainly saw that with this blaze here. started at 9:00 last night. they began to attack the flames. they realized that it was just too dangerous. there was too much stuff inside this warehouse. it was all on fire. they were concerned about the stability of the structure itself, whether or not they could have a collapse, so they

pulled everybody out. the fire kind of whipped up again there. they just couldn't have their firefighters close to the building because they were worried about collapse. nobody has gone back inside since, because again, just a little too unstable. the blaze pretty much out, but it's still smoldering, so they'll stay here on the scene for a while. no idea what started it. roads are closed in the area. also electricity has been cut to the entire immediate area. businesses without electricity, so they're closed at the moment, too. back to you all in the studio. mitt romney heads to virginia today. the republican presidential nominee has three events scheduled in the commonwealth. he'll begin the day with a rally in roenick. from there, he hits richmond. he'll wrap up the day with a rally in virginia beach. romney was supposed to campaign in virginia on sunday but cancelled those events because of sandy. president obama will visit wisconsin, nevada, and colorado before ending the day in ohio. the president has not campaigned in three days, as he could joefr

see the government's response to sandy. you can expect more lines like this tonight in maryland, tomorrow as well. polling centers for early voting are open until 9:00 tonight. some voters say they waited for more than three hours yesterday to cast their ballots. early voting was postponed monday and tuesday because of sandy. governor martin o'malley extended voting through tomorrow and ordered polling centers to stay open three hours later. in virginia, fairfax county is extending its in-person absentee voting hours. you can now vote from 8:00 in the morning until 8:00 at night. your last day to submit an in-person absentee ballot is saturday. voting centers will be open from 8:00 until 5:00. you can fandind a list at nbcwashington.com. how president obama and mitt romney both made a little girl cry. plus, stunning video of a double disaster. firefighters battling flames and hurricane sandy at the same

time. a cold start to your november and we're keeping track of trouble spots on the road. your weather and traffic next. anncr: it's said that character is what we do...

when we think no one is looking. mitt romney: believe that they are victims. anncr: mitt romney thought no one was looking when... he attacked forty-seven percent of americans. his companies shipped jobs overseas. his plan cuts millionaires' taxes, but raises yours. he'll voucherize medicare... and make catastrophic cuts to education. so remember what romney said...

and what his plan would do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. welcome back. it is 45 degrees. a cold start to your start to the month of november. can you believe it? and still feeling some of the effects of sandy still. >> speaking of which, take a look at some snow we want to show you. this is in tennessee, two more feet of snow in the great smoky mountains there, adding to the record snowfall they got earlier in the week. rangers say this area usually gets about four inches of snow this time of year. hurricane sandy caused more snowfall in the past week to the tune of two-plus feet. >> that's just craziness. it's crazy. it's bad enough you have to deal with the rain and the winds. then snow. let's check on the storm team 4 meteorologist tom kierein, hoping things are calm in our area. >> things are settling down.

weather and traffic as we approach 6:11 on this thursday morning. we have clouds rolling through. we are getting a few sprinkles. those areas in green, north and west of washington, might have a few sprinkles later this morning so have an umbrella handy. you'll ned a winter coat, too. hour by hour, still in the low 40s, a lot of clouds around, as well as around noontime, by then, low 50s. a little sun ought to break out during the afternoon. winds gusting to around 20 miles an hour. seven-day outlook friday into the weekend. next weekend, a look at traffic now with danella. >> checking things out in damascus, maryland. 27 ridge road closed. over to delays along i-270. they start southbound at 85 and continue as you make your way past 109. you are sluggish. not bad in the germantown area. here's a live look at shady grove as you connect to the

beltway. on 66, we're talking delays for you in exactly ten minutes. 45 degrees outside our studios. tragedy and sacrifice. the police officer who died saving his family during hurricane sandy. >> that's why you're crying? and we'll tell you how president obama and mitt romney made this little girl cry.

i'm melissa malay at the live desk. three women have been killed in a stampede after a halloween party at the madrid arena in spain. the reports that the panic started when a flare was thrown into the road. a witness tells spanish radio the building had just one open exit and people simply couldn't get out. maryland governor martin o'malley got a firsthand look at the impact of sandy on the eastern shore. he toured flooded roads and houses. they also looked at the damage to the town's waterfront, which is a hub for crabbing and the town's economic lifeline. >> out of this loss and out of this damage, we can build it better and build it stronger and build it to withstand the bigger storm events that we're going to be dealing with for the

foreseeable future. >> o'malley also went to ocean city to see flooding and damage to the town's iconic pier. >> just beginning the cleanup process along the sandy ravaged jersey shore seems like an overwhelming task. president obama toured parts of the shore yesterday with governor chris christie and helped residents to rebuild. danielle leigh is there with more. >> reporter: many of those popular vacation communities along the jersey shore, places like seaside heights, they are still cut off from the rest of society today. on the other side of that bridge, it is just not safe to be over there right now. along tom's river, constant reminders of damage. a boat behind me, a piece of a couch. the damage is severe. we're talking about levels homes, streets that are impassable. it was just yesterday that many people were evacuated, those who were stranded along the shore. they're really holding on to the president's promises to expedite

this recovery process. they really want to get this recovery under way. for many of them, they have been without power for days now in the cold and the dark. and they are anxious. those on the mainland, they have been spending time here where i'm standing. they'll likely be back here today. they just want to get back over to the shore to see what is left of their homes, if anything, because they've been anxiously waiting to find out. later today, emergency officials will go back over to the shore now that they have rescued many of those people who were stranded. they will be able to begin the cleanup, making things safe for people to go back to those communities. reporting live, i'm danielle leigh, now back to you. our own jim rosenfield visited an area where streets are still overwhelmed by water. protective barrier surrounding the 100-year-old boardwalk, failed to hold back waves, whipped up by the storm, sending water rushing into that

community. emotions there over what was lost still raw. >> it was beautiful. new couch, new fridge. >> the kingsburg amusement park also suffered significant damage, but owners say they will rebill and have the ambitious goal of opening in summer. investigators are searching for two children. this is video from a new york city police helicopter showing crews rescuing people from flooded homes. rescuers found 14 people alive. three others were dead. an off duty new york city police officer is among dead. he died while helping his seven family members to safety inside his flooded home. police say many of the people in that area tried to ride out the storm despite evacuation orders. a developing situation in new jersey now. the coast guard believes a diesel spill has been contained

after being brought on by hurricane sandy. storm damage sent more than 300,000 gallons of fuel into the water, separating new jersey from staten island. that water also leads to the atlantic. the diesel came from an oil tank facility in new jersey. 200 workers were brought on the scene to help contain the spill by putting boons in the water. a candidate for west virginia state house is one of five people killed when a massive snowstorm from sandy swept over that state. 60-year-old john rose was killed by a falling tree as more than three feet of snow dumped on that state. the republican was running for a seat in the house delegate. the election board says it is too late to remove his name from the ballot. if he receives most of the votes, governor earl tomlin will appoint a delegate if a pool of people offered by the state gop. we just keep getting more and more amazing video that shows the dangerous conditions when hurricane sandy hit. you can see three homes here engulfed in flames. this is in greenwich, connecticut. firefighters say the strong winds and the threat of rising

water prevented them from battling this blaze monday night. the first responders evacuated people inside their homes. no word if anyone was hurt. and take a good look at this police sketch. investigators believe this man shot and killed a wife and mother as she and her husband walked their dog. the shooting happened late friday. the husband was also shot. he is expected to survive, though. police are now offering a $15,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. this morning, students at a local high school are grieving the loss of a classmate who was killed when she was hit by a car. the 15-year-old was walking to school yesterday morning trying to cross seven lanes of traffic on germantown road. she was a sophomore at seneca valley high school. shortly after the accident, her mother had this warning for pedestrians. >> i just want all the kids out here walking to school to make sure that they are careful and pay attention to their surroundings. this is a high volume area, and

things happen around here all the time. i just didn't think it would happen to my baby. just unbelievable. i just can't believe my daughter is not here. >> so sad. police tell us the man who was behind the wheel of the car had a green light at the time. so far, no charges have been filed. let's check your forecast. tom? >> good morning. starting off this morning, still feeling the effects of sandy spinning away over canada. right now, storm team 4 radar showing a few sprinkles in montgomery, howard county, and points north and west of there. these are rotating and moving off to the east. might have an isolated sprinkle this morning. you certainly need a winter coat. it's only in the low and mid 40s now, most of the region from the atlantic beaches all the way to the shenandoah valley in many location where is the heavy snow fell. it's right near freeding n inii

freezing now. a lot of clouds around. a little sun breaking out this afternoon. winds gusting to around 20 miles an hour. and then on friday, cold in the morning, low 30s, afternoon highs in the low 50s and partly cloudy. still a blustery wind tomorrow. highs reaching mid 50s after a near freezing start. and then we turn our clocks back one hour saturday night. sunday sunny, low to mid 50s during the afternoon after a cold start. the chill remains into next week. i'll return in ten minutes. danella with your traffic. >> good morning. good news on the rails. metro had a delay on the orange line. however, that's gone. vre not reporting delays at this time. let's talk about delays on 66, heading eastbound at sudley, steady delays continue as you head to centreville. let's look at fairfax county parkway. just sluggish to the beltway, but it's not terrible.

13 minutes to get from fairfax county. the controversy over what another politician said about race. >> plus, we now have a face and a name. the manhunt for a man accused of attacking police

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call or click today. the show must go on. d.c. decides not to let hurric

tonight, grab your high heels and take your mark. the race is usually held tuesday before halloween, but organizers rescheduled the race for tonight because of sandy. the race is unlike any other. men dress drag and run in pumps, really high heeled pumps down 17th street northwest. quite a show. amazing to see. election day is just five days away. >> and it can't come soon enough for one little girl. >> i'm tired. i'm tired of both obama and mitt romney. >> that's why you're crying?

oh. it will be over soon, abby. >> oh, in the mouths of babes. that's abby evans, she burst into tears when she heard another report about the election on the radio. poor abby may soon be sobbing some more. she happens to live in one of those battleground states. president obama will be there today. mitt romney is scheduled to visit colorado on saturday. coming up, your weather and traffic together on the 1s. the violence that erupted during two celebrations. and coming up at 6:40, something you probably have never seen before. we'll show you the exact moment hurricane sandy ripped up a tree by its roots.

we are still being affected by sandy. i'll tell [ earnest ] out of the blue one day, we were told to build a 30-foot stage. gathered the guys and we built that 30-foot stage, not knowing what it was for. just days later, all three shifts were told to assemble in the warehouse. a group of people walked out on that stage and told us that the plant is now closed

and all of you are fired... i looked both ways, i looked at the crowd, and...we all just lost our jobs. we don't have an income. mitt romney made over 100 million dollars by shutting down our plant and devastated our lives. turns out that when we built that stage, it was like building my own coffin, and it just made me sick. [ male announcer ] priorities usa action is responsible for the content of this advertising. a developing story, a massive fire still smoldering off nine hours. how it could impact your morning commute. and celebration turned to panic when gunfire erupted on

halloween. good morning, everyone. welcome back to "news4 today." i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. it is thursday, november 1st, 2012. things are slowly starting to get back to normal for new yorkers affected by sandy. today people will be able to ride the bus and subways for fwr free. not all subway lines are running because some stations and tunnels are still flooded. today and tomorrow, anyone driving into the city must have at least three passengers in their car. mayor bloomberg says car pooling should help ease some of the gridlock. laguardia airport will reopen in about tle hour. mission accomplished for pepco. it has restored power to all of its customers who lost electricity. dominion virginia power hopes to do the same by tonight. right now it has more than 1,700 customers in the dark in northern virginia. bge working to restore power to more than 4,000 homes and businesses in our area, mostly in anne arundel county. novak is reporting 420 customers

impacted by outages right now. >> power outages in a handful of area schools means another day off. in anne arundel county, four schools are still closed. chapel forge is also without power, as is lewistown elementary in frederick county, maryland. all schools in pendleton county, west virginia, are closed because of power outage issues there. >> let's take a look at tom kierein to see what's going on outside. >> we still have clouds. sandy with a huge storm, when it came inland on monday, but it's still a huge storm. it's weakened a lot. center of circulation we have over eastern canada, but that's over 500 miles from us and we are still seeing the circulation. you can see the great circulation spin in the atmosphere, like a giant merry-go-round over the entire northeastern part of the north american continent, and here, we are feeling the effects still in

the form of a few passing sprinkles north and west of washington, as well as cold air coming down from canada. all these areas in dark blue are in the 30s. as well as throughout much of the midwest. this huge chilly air mass is going to be moving our way. parts of southern maryland have dipped down into the 30s, and storm team 4 hour by hour today, 7:00, 8:00 this morning, still a possibility of a sprinkle or two. still cloudy and into the low 50s. you'll need a winter coat this morning with those winds still a bit blustery. gusting the around 20 miles an hour during the afternoon. by then maybe a little sun breaking out into the mid 50s by mid afternoon. i'll return in ten minutes. danella here now with a look at your traffic. good morning. >> good morning. we're going to kick it off with good news in damascus. had an earlier accident with

downed wires. down to the beltway we go in montgomery county, starting to hit the brakes as you make your way toward new hampshire avenue. you see pretty heavy in this area. to get to i-270, let's talk travel speeds. that drive will take you about 14 minutes. over to 395 now from the beltway to seminary road, you're clug finish this area to get to the 14th street bring. chopper four is en route to i-95 there. we have report of an accident as you head northbound at prince william parkway. i'm back in ten with details. new this morning, multiple people are in the hospital after two separate shootings in california. the first shooting at a halloween party at the university of southern california. four people were taken to the hospital. one of them in critical condition. two people are in custody. the second shooting happened in hollywood. three people were hurt after someone fired shots into the crowd. one person is in critical condition. tlae people have been arrested.

overnight, we learned that charges will be filed against graham spanier today. the "pittsburg post-gazette" reports he's being charged with obstruction of justice. last month, sandusky was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. police are investigating an armed robbery just off the campus of the university of maryland. this happened in the 7300 block of baltimore avenue just after 2:00 this morning, right in the downtown college park area near the college park shopping center. police did alert students about this robbery. there is still a search going on for suspects. right now, federal agents from as far away as ohio and indiana are looking for the man who they say threw three pipe bombs at homes in northern virginia. this is the man they're looking for. virginia state police say lawrence stewart ii threw the homemade bombs into home on

wednesday, targeting his ex-girlfriend and two law enforcement officers who arrested him in the past. police warn he could be armed and dangerous. >> we believe this person is extremely dangerous. we know that he is armed. we believe that he is still carrying explosive devices with him. he's already demonstrated that he's capable of committing murder, or attempting to commit murder or kill others and we have no reason to believe that he is going to stop. >> stewart is facing eight charges, including attempted capital murder of an officer. another republican congressional candidate being criticized for comments he made about abortion. >> i know a woman who was raped and gave up the child for adoption. she's a big pro-life proponent. >> that's the vis of john costar. he was answering a question for an activist working for a liberal group. the candidate is a strong proponent of harsh penalties for

sex offenders. the "today" show is coming up at 7:00. let's check in now with matt lauer to see what they're working on for this morning. we're all thinking of you all in new york while you're dealing the mess up there in manhattan. >> that's very nice. a lot of us here are fortunate. there are a lot who are less fortunate and we'll be talking about that coming up on thursday. we'll have more on the long road to recovery facing people like that. the cities and towns up and down the east coast in the wake of this storm. we'll be live in the ravaged city of seaside heights, new jersey. natalie will be in hoboken, where many residents are still trapped by flood waters. plus, savannah takes us inside the round-the-clock operation to get the water out of new york city's subway system. then the decision to go ahead with sunday's new york city marathon. was it the right call? we'll talk about that with the head of the group that organizes the annual event. we have those stories, plus aerosmith's rise to rock royalty as we get ready for tomorrow's live concert on the plaza. we'll start in a few minutes on

a thursday edition of "today." back to you. >> looking forward to it, matt. thank you. see you soon. right now, 45 degrees outside our studios. "go gone with the wind. incredible moment of when sandy ripped a tree right out of the ground. why new york is now asking drivers to pick up strangers on the side of the road. we're watching traffic trouble spots, weather and traffic on the 1s after this.

a delivery delay. how hurricane sandy could keep you from getting your packages anncr: which do you believe? what mitt romney's tv ads say about women? or what mitt romney himself says? mitt romney: do i believe the supreme court... should overturn roe v. wade? yes. and it would be my preference that they, that they... reverse roe v. wade. hopefully reverse roe v. wade.

overturn roe v. wade. planned parenthood, we're going to get rid of that. i'll cut off funding to planned parenthood. anncr: no matter what mitt romney's ads say. we know what he'll do. president obama: i'm barack obama and... i approve this message. some new video showing just hoe powerful sandy was. this was taken by a man on long island, new york. watch closely here. you see the winds uproot that massive oak tree, crashed right into a neighbor's yard.

meteorologists say the storm packed 80-mile-per-hour winds at that time. fortunately, no one was hurt here. if you want to see this again, we posted this video on the "news4 today" facebook page. you can hear all the sounds that go along with that video as well. >> and that was the scene across the region. we know there were areas of arlington hit particularly hard with huge roots all over the place. want to get a look at our forecast for today. the winds a lot calmer now. >> yeah, but we are still being affected by sandy. good morning, as we head off this morning on a thursday morning, going need a winter coat. you might need an umbrella because we have some sprinkles that are just to the north and west of the metro area. there is quit a chill in the air. areas in light blue in the 30s, dark blue in the 30s. right now reagan national is at 46. we are going to have a chilly morning. 8:00 a.m. temperatures still in the low to mid 40s. noontime still cloudy, blustery

wind, into the low 50s. bied my afternoy ed by mid afternoon, into the lower 50s. the winds will be gusting maybe around 20 miles an hour from time to time throughout the rest of the day. how much longer is sandy going to be affecting us? we'll take a look at your storm team 4 seven-day outlook coming up in about ten minutes. also a couple amazing photos of the snow in the mountains, that will be at 6:51. a look at your traffic now with danella. >> let's head down i-95 southbound in virginia. there you'll find an accident at prince william parkway. as you travel northbound, you'll see two of your right lanes blocked. let's get a closer look from chopper 4. you can see delays are growing, so as you make your way out of dale city and heading right toward this accident in prince william parkway, you are seeing delays fill up. a live look as you pass potomac

mills. the drive will take you about 37 minutes to get to the beltway. i'm back in ten. back to you. right now people commuting into new york city have to drive in car pools because of sandy's aftermath. the city is forcing all cars headed into manhattan to have at least three people in the car for the next two days. mayor michael bloomberg says the streets just can't handle the usual number of cars just yet. the city is actually trying to set up places just over the river for drivers to pick up extra passengers so they can get into the city. new yorkers can ride the bus and subway for free today and tomorrow. governor cuomo declared a transportation emergency and this is the reason why. new video showing flooded subway tunnels. three of the seven tunnels have been cleared. he's asking for patience and tolerance why crews restore service. one of the hardest hit areas is staten island where a lot of people had to be rescued from their flooded homes.

lori, what's the situation this morning? >> reporter: good morning, guys. a pretty dire situation. a lot of people here looking for gas and there are just no gas stations that have any gas to offer at this point. we got to this gas station here in brooklyn. several hours ago, we waited about 45 minutes just to fill our tank. we feel really lucky, because about a half an hour later, they ran out of gas here. you can see a lot of cars have been driving in, asking if there's any gas left. they're trying to find other stations. at this point, it's really difficult. we left manhattan very, very early this morning. we hit up four different -- this is our fourth bureau that we've been to. we just have not found any gas stations with any gas to offer at this point. our big mistake was passing up the first station that we saw.

we just said forget it. but that's my advice. at this point, everybody is running low and you really run the risk at this point of not getting any gas. that's the latest. back to you guys. president obama and chris christie toured some of damage. the president says his administration will not forget about the storm's victims. >> we're going to have a lot of work to do. i don't want anybody to feel that somehow this is all going to get cleaned up overnight. we want to make sure the people have realistic expectations. what i can promise you is the federal government will be working as closely with the state and local officials and we will not quit until this is done. halloween will not take

place until next monday in new jersey. governor chris christie seened an executive order postponing the holiday. he says it's too dangerous to celebrate right now in parts of his state. firefighters in annapolis say a contractor was killed when a tree fell on him on home wood road just outside the naval academy. the man was part of a crew removing trees damaged by the storm. we're told the victim was in his late 40s or early 50s. good morning. a new investigation is now being launched into whether lance armstrong will be able to keep his 2000 olympic bronze medal. the international olympic committee is now starting the interv interview and investigation process. he was stripped of his seven tour de france titles in the biggest doping scandal to ever hit the sport. armstrong has always denied

doping. at the live desk, melissa malay. developing story in northeast washington. a massive fire sparks at a warehouse near gallaudet university. this is happening at the old union market building at the intersection of fourth and moore streets. megan mcgrath is live there with more. megan, good morning. >> reporter: you can see behind me that firefighters are still here on the scene keeping watch over the warehouse here. there still is a little bit of smoke rising from the rooftop, but the flames, those have been knocked down at this point. this is a very difficult fire to fight here. it's in the warehouse district. this is the old union market warehouse district. there are a number of different wholesale vendors here in some of these very old masonry buildings. many of them sell meat products. others sell things like textiles, clothing, and it was one of those business where is they believe this fire began. we're talking about a warehouse that was crammed full of clothing and things that were very flammable that made this a

very dangerous fire to fight. >> it's very scary because you don't want to lose any of your people. i came from the firefighter's point of view. it's what they train for. it's what they want to do and they're pretty well focused on it. this was a scary fire. when we pulled them out, everybody followed procedures. it was pretty orderly and we were able to track everybody. and that's a good thing. >> and fortunately, no injuries, but there is a lot of property damage, the business of origin apparently just extensive damage. the fire then spread to some businesses on either side. now, in terms of what started it, all of this still under investigation. it broke out at around 9:00 last night. they were fighting the blaze. it began to get kind of difficult for them to deal with. they began to get concerned about the structural integrity of the building. they had to pull all of the firefighters out and get everybody away from the

building. no one's been back in since because they are concerned about collapse. no power to the area at this point either. reporting live in northeast, megan mcgrath, news4. sandy is leaving its mark on fedex. you expect service delays in the area affected by the storm. the shipping company says it will keep packages in a storage facility if they're meant to be delivered in the area that has been evacuated. you still track your shipments online. the company says shipments delayed due to inclement weather are not eligible for a refund or credit under the money back guarantee policy. there is at least one reason why hurricane sandy could be good for business. sandy may have been very bad for some homeowners, but it's bringing good news to residential construction. "the new york times" reporting that construction companies will be getting a lot of business once flood waters are pumped out of neighborhoods, power lines are restored and roads are

cleared of debris. they'll also be able to hire lots of workers, many of whom have been idle due to the housing slump that's stretched for the past five years. it's interesting to note that lumber futures on the chicago mercantile exchange soared yesterday. the type of lumber that trades there is framing lumber, used mainly in home construction. and the irs is giving taxpayers and tax preparers hit by sandy a little bit of a break. the agency will let them have an extra week to file returns and make payments. it applies mainly to businesses in the northeast and mid-atlant mid-atlantic. payments are normally due on wednesday. the deadline will be extended until november 7th. no action is required by taxpayers to receive the extension. you can find more on irs.gov. >> thank you. time for weather and traffic on the 1s. tom kierein here now with the

forecast. . >> it came ashore on monday and here we are on thursday still feeling thefects. and boy, did they feel it out in western maryland. look at this. heavy, wet snow, snapping off tree limbs. they've got power outages out there. this pic sent by the folks at the savage river lodge in garrett county in western maryland. sandy dumped heavy snow on virginia's blue ridge mountains as well. they're now the white ridge mountains. this is the view from luray looking east. it's just heavy snow there. this photo taken yesterday afternoon. send your photos to weather@nbcwashington.com. there's capitol hill under a cloudy sky.

areas in green getting a few sprinkles. going to need an umbrella as you head out. farther west and north getting some sprinkles as well. it's only in the low to mid 40s. quite a wintery chill. almost feels like a december morning. not the first morning of november. for the morning commute, just some clouds around, maybe a few sprinkles. low to mid 40s by 8:00 a.m. then by the lunch hour, still cloudy, cool and breezy, upper 40s and low 50s. four-day forecast, tomorrow a bit breezy. low 50s in the afternoon. chilly for the weekend, too. but some sunshine. we turn our clocks back one hour on saturday night. the chill remains as we get into next week. danella? >> still seeing problems on i-95. here's a live look from chopper 4. as you make your way northbound, that accident was blocking the right lane. now police are on the scene, blocking the right shoulder

lane. you're seeing about a five-mile backup. travel speed from quantico, that drive is going to take you about 38 minutes to get to the beltway. heading over to 395 northbound, an accident was blocking the right lane at duke. it's been moved over to the right shoulder lane at about 28 miles per hour. that drive is going to take you 23 minutes. mitt romney will spend the day in virginia. he has campaign events scheduled in roanoke, virginia beach, and boswell. recent polls show he and the president in a virtual tie in the commonwealth. president obama will return to the campaign trail today. he heads west to stump for votes if three battleground states. the president will first stop in wisconsin for a rally in green bay. from there, he heads to nevada and the campaign event in las vegas. he'll also travel to denver this evening before flying all the way to ohio. late tonight, he'll campaign at the buckeye state tomorrow. marylanders may be a bit

tired this morning. they waited in line for hours in the cold last night to vote. early voting resumed yesterday in the state. it was postponed mondays and tuesday because of sandy. so governor martin o'malley extended early voting to friday. polling stations are also open three hours later until 9:00 at night. many marylanders waited in line for tlae hour three hours or lo kat cast their ballots. a chill in the air. temperatures only in the 40s now. a bit of a blustery wind. may have a sprinkle, too. later today, a little sun breaking out into the mid 50s. perhaps part of saturday, seven-day outlook showing dry and chilly patterns through the weekend and into the first part of next week. cold mornings and chilly afternoons with highs in the 50s. danella, how is the traffic looking now? >> i'm getting an early morning accident. you can see here, colesville road southbound absolutely jammed. looks like an accident here.

i can tell you the heavy delays start at randolph road and you're sluggish as you make your way past this accident here. another look from chopper 4. you're slow northbound. back over to you both. >> thank you for starting your day with us. >> the "today" show is next. we'll be back in 25 minutes with weather, traffic and any breaking news. hope you'll join us tomorrow. have a great day. we'll see you tomorrow. >> make it a great thursday, everybody.